Gingerbread Houses

I have decided that I have really competitive friends. All of our parties turn into competitions.... i.e. pumpkin carving. So here is our Christmas party.. pizza and gingerbread houses. The boys would have nothing to do with making them so the girls were hard at work. The Brittany's used their kit from Target which required no imagination. Brooke and I had to try and create decorations on our Sweedish gingerbread house which I think should count as double the points. Then our husbands judged and it was top secret because each husband knew if they didn't vote for their wife's house then there would be trouble at home that night. I think the Brittany's won... I think it was because they had more candy? Clearly, modern and simple designs do not win with boys.

Brooke and I

The Brittany's

Yes, I Wore the Same Dress

Cameron's building's Christmas party was 2 weeks apart from his other Christmas party in Orange County. I wore my same dress with pride but changed my hair.. maybe people wouldn't notice the same dress? The party was super fun and Cameron played a rocked out version of Silent Night while his department heads sang... loved it!

I Love Decorations...

We didn't get a tree this year because it just would have been a waste... but I tried to spice up the little apartment as best as I could. Merry Christmas!

Tis the season

I attempted to be a bit crafty this year for some gifts... the first being beeswax candles. These were actually fun to make and even more fun to do with friends. While in AZ for Thanksgiving my in-laws and I made the cute jars- basically they were really hard. You buy the jars from Ikea and tie ribbon on the top... my kind of craft. I filled them with home made caramels. Yum!

Laguna Beach

Wow, I'm finally posting the events that happened in the right month! Cameron's work party was held in Laguna Beach this year- we flew down Thursday night and were there until Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun little vacation and so generous of Cameron's work... lets give a shout out to Generations Healthcare! We stayed at the Montage Resort and it was just beautiful... not to mention Laguna Beach... we just love that place and it brought back memories of our wedding! It was so great to relax, walk on the beach, and sleep in. Cameron become the super star and played his guitar at the dinner Friday night- while singing. Everyone loved it and I think he thinks it is the beginning of his rockstar career.

Turkey Day In Arizona

We went to Arizona for Thanksgiving and had a blast! It was great to see family and friends and spend time with everyone. To my great relief I discovered that Arizona does produce cold weather... I only packed one sweatshirt because I only remember sweating in Arizona. Lucky for me I got to wear that same sweatshirt everyday to block the chill.

The Fam Visits

My mom and sister came out to visit right before Thanksgiving. It was great to have them here... we basically ate, shopped, and got mani pedis... what a dream! It was so fun to have them here!

Supreme Loser

So we started a Halloween tradition last year with Brittany and Derek Simmons... eat chili and carve pumpkins. This year we found more friends... things are looking up for us and the Simmons! So last year Cameron and I won the contest (sorry Simmons and yes, the pumpkins were judged). This year there were 4 couples and the competition was heated. Cameron and I went in with complete confidence and we made the name for last place: Supreme Loser. We bought an awesome white pumpkin and carved a skeleton. The other couples were hard at work yet Cameron and I knew we had it in the bag. You might need to sit down for this: at the judging competition we did not take 1st, nor 2nd, and not even 3rd. We were deemed the SUPREME LOSERs. I do not know how this happened and I don't think Cameron has recovered from this yet. He is hard at work planning next years pumpkin.

Yet another tourist attraction, Alcatraz

So here we are again, being tourists. But actually.. this was really fun. We toured Alcatraz at night and it was really cool. We paid an extra 6 bucks a ticket to see it at night. See in my mind I was thinking it would be kind of spooky and it was our Halloween activity. But let me give you a tip- it was not scary. But it was cool to watch the sun set behind Golden Gate Bridge while on Alcatraz and there was an added bonus: the cool headsets you get to wear!

Welcome Little Lucas

So my first nephew was born in August... Lucas Scott. My brother Scott and his wife Anya are super excited and I can't wait to see him. I actually get to see him in a few days and I can't wait. This is the day he came home from the hospital... so cute!

Caramel

We headed to Caramel in August and it was so dang pretty. I had no idea such beautiful beaches existed in No. Cal. We loved walking around, touring the shops we couldn't afford, and trying out this awesome deli. We wanted to drive the 17 mi. drive in Monteray but you needed 9 dollars.. in cash. Who has cash these days... so we had to turn out. All in all, great day!

You don't need a boat, just friends with a boat

This is where the Hall's come in. Meet the Halls... we just love them. They were our first friends in our new ward and literally after the first time we met them we were invited boating. Come to find out they are obsessed with boating and can't go without some friends... I'm getting over the fact that we were being used. Anyway, I refused the first time since I couldn't wakeboard... and then I learned how in Utah. So the second time I took them up on their offer.. and the good news was that I could still get up. Cameron LOVES wakeboarding and Brooke and Jason are such great friends.

I camp for the dutch oven

Cam and I went to Utah in August for a fun filled family vacation. We went camping with my moms side of the family and hung out in SLC the rest of the time (which is where the Alpine Slide comes in). My last camping memory was going up in the day and sleeping in a hotel in the night with my mom and sister. We roughed it this time. Oh wait, Cameron did sneak into the shower which I was very disappointed over. I do have to admit, I think I'm more cut out for camping then Cameron. The dutch oven dinner rocked... and I think that is why I camp. But the highlight was boating the next day... because I decided to give wakeboarding a try. The highlights were not me face planting a million times... but me finally getting up. Cameron pretty much rocks at wakeboarding and I am definitely a close second. Brent, my brother, tried doing backflips which was pretty impressive!

Its all very crooked

Lombard street is so fun... and so touristy. And yes, we were tourists today. We were all about the cable cars, Lombard St., taking pictures of everything, and the farmers market at Embarcadero. Let's be honest, there is nothing like fresh fruit at the farmers market.

Misty and Truck

Here we are horseback riding in Half Moon Bay- which is beautiful by the way. Cam's horse was Misty, mine was Truck. All I can say is that Misty was a bad, bad horse. She kicked everyones horse and she always got in trouble by the owners. Truck was definitely not fast as a truck.. his name should have been Turtle. We rode down on the beach and it was so pretty... and kind of scary when the horses ran through the sand. But we survived and had a fun time touring the town. Our only incident of the day was when Cameron passed me the camera (while on the horses) and he dropped it. He claims I dropped it but I remember it more clearly. I then hopped off the horse in fear of not my life, but my camera's. I couldn't bear the thought of losing all my pics... and I got yelled at by the owners. But I saved the camera from a horses hoof... and that is what matters.

Go Giants!

The Giants stadium is amazing... I go to people watch and Cameron watches the game! 

Gotta love a county fair

I found the sweetest deal: you pay to go to the county fair and you get to see the concert for free. The concert just happened to be SheDaisy... and they are super fun. So we experienced the county fair in Pleasanton. I swear this was my first trip to the fair and Cameron had to tell me about the carnies. This was new news to me... I couldn't even believe that they set up fake benches at these things. But, we had a great time and SheDaisy was awesome!

Cam the model

We hiked Del Valle in Livermore. We are talking serious hills on this hike. Here is Cam trying to get hired on by Abercromie.

I'm cursed

Next trip: Santa Cruz for the beach. Let's just say I was so cold I had to buy a sweatshirt. It was so cold we couldn't lay out until about 2:00 pm.. and by laying out I mean wearing my new sweatshirt and towel. The good news was that we walked around the entire town of Santa Cruz and found the best breakfast place serving banana pancakes. I have tried to recreate them without much luck. 

Lets get active...

Unfortunately I chose really windy activities for our first few outings. I think I might still be windblown. We rented bikes and rode through San Fransisco, over the bridge, and into Sausilito. It was really fun... but oh so windy and cold. The best part was eating hamburgers at the hamburger place in Sausilito- and I really think the name is Hamburgers. I could eat my last meal at that place.  

Lafeyette Resevoir

I made a goal for Cam and I after getting married... to do something other then going to the mall or movies on the weekend. Here is the first adventure: paddle boats! Um, lets just say this is harder then it looks. There were a few problems on this trip.  The first being I wore a dress: bad idea. The second being it was really windy. Suddenly we were blown on the other side of the lake, I couldn't really peddle without flashing everyone, and Cameron had to do all the work because I was laughing so hard. Gotta love getting out! 

Catching up....

So I've been meaning to do this for awhile, like most things in my life. At least I admit it, right? Here's to catching up!! We got married in April in the San Diego Temple. Our wedding was perfect... family, friends, and the beach!!